godwit

godwit
/god"wit/, n.
any of several large, widely distributed shorebirds of the genus Limosa, as the New World L. haemastica (Hudsonian godwit), having a long bill that curves upward slightly.
[1545-55; of obscure orig.]

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bird
 any of four species of large, long-billed shorebirds of the genus Limosa, family Scolopacidae, named for its whistling call. Godwits are generally reddish brown in summer and grayish in winter; all nest in the Northern Hemisphere. The black-tailed godwit (L. limosa), about 40 centimetres (16 inches) long including the bill, has a black-banded, white tail. The bill is long and straight. The black-tailed godwit, which breeds in Iceland and on wet plains across Eurasia, is the emblem of the Netherlands Ornithological Union. In North America a smaller form, the Hudsonian godwit (L. haemastica), declined in population from overshooting to an estimated 2,000 survivors, but it may be reviving. The other North American form, the marbled godwit (L. fedoa), with slightly upturned bill and pinkish brown underwings, is fairly common; it undergoes little seasonal colour change. Slightly smaller is the bar-tailed godwit (L. lapponica), of the Eurasian and Alaskan tundra. Some members of the subspecies L. lapponica bauri are capable of migrating nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Godwit — God wit (g[o^]d w[i^]t), n. [Prob. from AS. g[=o]d good + wiht creature, wight.] (Zo[ o]l.) One of several species of long billed, wading birds of the genus {Limosa}, and family {Tringid[ae]}. The European black tailed godwit ({Limosa limosa}),… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • godwit — [gäd′wit] n. [orig. prob. echoic of cry] any of a genus (Limosa, family Scolopacidae) of brownish shorebirds with a long bill that curves slightly upward …   English World dictionary

  • Godwit — Taxobox name = Godwits image caption = Bar tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Charadriiformes familia = Scolopacidae genus = Limosa genus authority = Brisson, 1760 subdivision ranks = Species… …   Wikipedia

  • godwit — /ˈgɒdwɪt / (say godwit) noun any of several large shorebirds of the genus Limosa, all with long, slightly up curved bills, two species of which, the bar tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica, and the black tailed godwit, Limosa limosa, regularly… …  

  • godwit — griciukai statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Limosa angl. godwit rus. веретенник, m pranc. barge, f ryšiai: platesnis terminas – kuolingos siauresnis terminas – kanadinis griciukas siauresnis terminas – laplandinis griciukas …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • godwit — noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1552 any of a genus (Limosa) of shorebirds that are related to the curlews and sandpipers and have a long slender slightly upturned or straight bill …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • godwit — noun /ˈɡɒdwɪt/lang=en Any of four species of long billed, migratory wading birds in the genus Limosa, of the family Scolopacidae. Syn: yarwhelp, yarwip …   Wiktionary

  • godwit — n. large wading bird with a long bill and long leggs …   English contemporary dictionary

  • godwit — noun a large, long legged wader with a long straight or slightly upcurved bill. [Genus Limosa: four species.] Origin C16: of unknown origin …   English new terms dictionary

  • godwit — god·wit …   English syllables

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